It's been now 6 years now that I have been keeping steadily this food diary of ingredients and recipes I loved, and some of my culinary failures too. And in 6 years I never talked about (Japanese or Chinese) yam, the Japanese yama imo 山芋・大和芋 or naga imo 長芋, also sometimes called tsukuneimo つくね芋. While... Continue Reading →
Surimi – すり身
What the heck?! you may think... When you hear the word “surimi” you probably think about this disgusting white or orange industrial thing they sell in supermarket, I would definitely at first. I have never eaten any so I don’t know how it tastes like or feels like but my surimi looks quite different... it... Continue Reading →
More of the little red beans!
I hesitated in doing an adzuki week but thought I would come dry of ideas quickly except from the many sweets... but we don’t eat so many. But discovering more and more recipes, maybe I should have had... another time! So to change a bit from sweets I wanted a savory recipe to test and... Continue Reading →
Kintsuba
Sorry for the delay! I was hoping to publish it much earlier but then I got busy with work and I am struggling with wordpress and jetpack... technical issues that are getting more and more annoying. So to continue with adzuki, there are a few more recipes I would like to share, and as promised... Continue Reading →
The magic of the little red beans
One thing I have very rarely talked about here is adzuki - 小豆 literally small bean. They are present in many Japanese recipes and in most of the Japanese sweets. In fact beans are an important staple in Japanese cuisine: to name only a few the soya beans or daizu 大豆 literally big beans, the... Continue Reading →
The holidays…
Or I rather write “THE holidays”... as this year we didn’t take any real holidays until this week, rather a few days here and there to make long weekends and get away from the city. But for the new year, both the university and A.’s company are getting in a real slow mood, so it’s... Continue Reading →
Lemon squares for my birthday
It’s a kind of rule at home that A. cooks only when I am too sick to cook, which happens every 5-10 years or so, and for my birthday tea-time. I would select a cake and he would make it, usually with a little help of my mother when we are together at this time,... Continue Reading →
Christmas crazy, no more…
The frenzy of Christmas leaves me more and more perplexed and this year, having the opportunity (if one can says so) to spend it at home, just like a normal day off was actually more than welcome. Since we’ve been in Japan, rare are the years we haven’t spent Christmas with our families in Europe.... Continue Reading →
Koyadofu simmered with winter vegetables
You may remember that in October I introduced a very Japanese ingredient: Koyadofu-高野豆腐 in a post with a very simple recipe of curry. This was just one of the many examples of using koyadofu. Some may definitely claim that it is spongious and tasteless, I wouldn't argue much, but I could also say that it... Continue Reading →
Kwarezimal… again and perfect!
A few months ago I made Kwarezimal and posted the recipe. Kwarezimal are these Maltese vegan treats usually for easter that we had in Valetta last year when visiting. My first attempt at recreating these delicious sweets was tasty but I wasn’t quite happy. The recipe posted reflected the slight modifications needed to improve it... Continue Reading →
New local cheeses 🧀
On rainy days when we can be outside in the garden, in the ocean or elsewhere there are a few things we like to do. One of them is to look at real estate agencies websites (that’s actually how we found our house), and simultaneously look at google map satellite view and see the properties,... Continue Reading →
Wafu pasta 和風パスタ
If you’ve been following me for a bit you are no stranger to the fact that I LOVE pasta. All kind!!! Wafu pasta are a common thing on our table, even if for Italian people I reckon this is a terrible thing. But honestly... it is delicious, and since it mainly involves spaghetti or capellini,... Continue Reading →
Lotus root burgers
I often talk of recipes with lotus roots. It’s a Japanese staple easy to find when in season and super very versatile to cook and delicious. I love it in Japanese classic preparations such as stuffed or with vinegar, but also in more western style like on pizza or in quiche... lotus root is reaching... Continue Reading →
Little forest’s walnut rice
It is rare enough for me to talk about what I read (except cook books) or watch here, but once in a while I stumble on something that I find inspiring (cooking wise I mean). Every evening while we enjoy a simple meal we watch a movie (or more often half of one, as we... Continue Reading →
Quick ravioli
“Lucky” store in Isumi not only sales wines, sakes and rare whisky (they still have some aged Hibiki, which is quite rare to find now), they also sale a few local products with a small stall of cheeses. So while A. browses the liquor shelfs, I usually check the local cheeses from a tiny cheese... Continue Reading →
Chestnut flour pancake 2-ways
Funnily Japanese are very found of chestnuts 栗 kuri, and the fall comes with all sort of chestnut preparations savory and sweet. The most famous is probably 栗ご飯 kurigohan (rice with chestnut) or 栗の渋皮煮 kuri no shibukawa ni (boiled chestnut in syrup). The use of chestnut flour though is more restricted, and often limited to... Continue Reading →
Soup and bread…
What is more comforting than a warm soup when you have spent the whole day outside and the temperature have suddenly dropped? Every year I am shocked by the sudden change of the temperatures in Japan in autumn. There is always one day in November when you start the day wearing tea shirts and short... Continue Reading →
Omurice – オムライス
I am lucky to work with one of my students on the development of a system that proposes variations to things someone do depending on preferences... for developing such a system we decided to chose a concrete example, and the first idea that came to our mind was a system that could help you in... Continue Reading →
Burdock – 牛蒡
With the fall, burdock 牛蒡 gobou is back in season. This long root that looks like a salsifis but is firm and ressembles in texture artichokes, and a bit in taste too... is a classic flavor in Japanese cuisine. Probably because of a rather country style strong flavor and its fibrous texture, it often appears... Continue Reading →
Chickpeas and orrecchiete, an heresy?
There are culinary rules I grew up with that are long lived... Such that we don't eat bread with pasta, potatoes or rice, or we don't potatoes with pasta or rice, or rice with pasta... basically one and only one source of carbs is enough for one meal. A. would confirm that pasta and rice... Continue Reading →